The morning’s headlines make for rather grim reading, as the loss to Tottenham continues to dominate the media coverage.

The Guardian’s Barney Ronay argues that Sunday's fixture illustrated the season as a whole, with the Blues dominating for much of it and displaying some thrilling moves, but emerging without the points.

“With 70 minutes of this match gone Manchester City seemed to be providing a thrummingly well-engineered glimpse into the medium-term future, not so much outclassing Tottenham as simply refusing to let them play at all, and delivering an invigorating pointer towards what the Premier League – and even Europe – might expect next season,” he writes.

“And yet there was something oddly familiar too here, a temptation to see in City's glossily expert capitulation a cartoonish sense of a season in microcosm.

“City have made a habit of veering on to the hard shoulder and offering Manchester United the road in the title race. Here they again looked like the best team in the country for most of the match but still managed to end it as glum-faced champions un-elect, offering United the chance to take back an expensively acquired league championship at the earliest opportunity with victory on Monday night at home to Aston Villa.”

The Argentinian striker gave an exhilarating showing in the first period as he created multiple chances for his teammates.

“In truth, they should have been out of sight, Hart virtually untroubled throughout, Roberto Mancini's back line secure, his midfield dominant, Tevez a total menace.

“The little Argentine's contribution to City's fifth minute opener, tucked home with a side-footed volley by Samir Nasri, was sublime, a surging run, spin and deft flick to find the burst of James Milner to cross,” Lipton reports.

“Walker was Tottenham's main outlet, thwarted with Spurs' lone serious effort before the remarkable end-game, as Hart rushed off his line to kick behind.

“The real quality, though, was at the other end, most of it orchestrated by Tevez.